Can You Guess the Most Popular Movies of All Time From the Plotline?

By: William J. Wright
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can You Guess the Most Popular Movies of All Time From the Plotline?
Image: Paramount Pictures / 20th Century Fox / Lightstorm Entertainment

About This Quiz

The world is in love with movies. The medium that director and film theorist Jean Luc Godard called "truth at 34 frames per second" has romanced, seduced, repelled and thrilled us for more than a century, and although television and the internet have tried to steal us away, we've always come back to our true love. As simple escapism or as high art, a good film captures the imagination; a great film becomes a part of the soul.

No less an authority than the late Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert said, "Every great film should seem new every time you see it." It's those perennially new, unforgettable films that we've endeavored to collect for this quiz. From critical darlings to audience favorites, blockbuster hits to cult classics, you'll find them all here. What follows is a sampling across the broad spectrum of cinema with no preference to genre, budget, box office receipts or accolades. From the art house to the grindhouse, we've tried to put together something for cinephiles of all stripes. The movies you'll find here among the most popular ever made, but bear in mind, this is no way a complete list, we're sure to have skipped a favorite or two.

Pick out a good seat and make sure you have your popcorn and candy because the house lights are going down.  It"s time to settle in for the opening credits, cinephiles, because this challenge is just for you. Can you guess the most popular movies of all time from their plotlines?

Ghostbusters
Columbia-Delphi Productions / Black Rhino
Three fired scientists open a paranormal investigation and elimination business in New York in this 1984 comedy. Can you name it?
"Fright Night"
"Ghostbusters"
"Evil Dead 2"
"The Stuff"
Gone With the Wind
Selznick International Pictures / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The spoiled daughter of a rich plantation owner faces life, love and tragedy in this Civil War epic. Can you name this classic film?
"Gone With the Wind"
"The Red Badge of Courage"
"Little Women"
"Barbara Frietchie"
Pulp Fiction
A Band Apart / Jersey Films
Los Angeles underworld characters indulge in murder, mayhem and bristling dialogue in this nonlinear '90s anthology. Can you name this movie?
"Killing Zoe"
"Pulp Fiction"
"Jackie Brown"
"Amongst Friends"

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Rocky
United Artists
Against all odds, a small-time boxer gets a shot at the heavyweight championship in this 1976 drama. Can you name this box office hit?
"Rocky"
""The Champ"
"Let's Do It Again"
"Requiem For a Heavyweight"
Casablanca
Warner Bros. - First National Pictures
Can you name the classic 1942 film in which a nightclub owner must help his ex-lover and her rebel husband escape the Nazis?
"Casablanca"
"The Maltese Falcon"
"To Have and Have Not"
"The Big Sleep"
Jaws
Zanuck/Brown Company / Universal Pictures
Can you name the 1975 film about a giant great white shark that terrorizes a New England resort town?
"Orca"
"The Deep"
"The Bermuda Depths"
"Jaws"

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Titanic
Paramount Pictures / 20th Century Fox / Lightstorm Entertainment
An ill-fated romance blooms against the backdrop of one of the greatest disasters of the early 20th century in this 1997 drama. Can you name this film?
"The Towering Inferno"
"Airport"
"The Poseidon Adventure"
"Titanic"
E.T. the Extraterrestrial
Universal Pictures / Amblin Entertainment
An alien botanist is stranded on earth in a suburban neighborhood in this heartwarming 1982 sci-fi fantasy. Can you name this movie?
"Mac and Me"
"The Pod People"
"E.T. the Extraterrestrial"
"Nukie"
Back to the Future
Amblin Entertainment / Universal Pictures
Can you name the popular '80s sci-fi comedy in which a teen travels back in time with the help of an eccentric scientist?
"Back to the Future"
"My Science Project"
"Zapped"
"Real Genius"

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The Silence of the Lambs
Strong Heart/Demme Production
A novice FBI agent seeks the advice of a serial killer in this 1991 thriller. Can you name this film?
"The Accused"
"The Client"
"The Silence of the Lambs"
"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"
Saving Private Ryan
DreamWorks Pictures / Paramount Pictures / Amblin Entertainment / Mutual Film Company
Can you name the war epic in which a squad of Rangers is sent on a deadly mission to retrieve a sole surviving son from combat after the invasion of Normandy?
"The Big Red One"
"The Sands of Iwo Jima"
"Saving Private Ryan"
"The Longest Day"
The Sound of Music
Argyle Enterprises, Inc.
This one's for all the musical fans. Can you name the movie in which a family of singers flees Nazi-occupied Austria for a new life in Switzerland?
"West Side Story"
"Meet Me in St. Louis"
"Cabaret"
"The Sound of Music"

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Forrest Gump
Wendy Finerman Productions
Can you name the 1994 blockbuster in which an intellectually disabled man is witness to some of the greatest moments in 20th-century history?
"Reality Bites"
"Four Weddings and a Funeral"
"The Hudsucker Proxy"
"Forrest Gump"
All About Eve
20th Century Fox
A veteran actress gets more than she bargained for when she takes an opportunistic ingenue under her wing in this drama from 1950. Can you name it?
"Now, Voyager"
"The Little Foxes"
"All About Eve"
"Dark Victory"
The Exorcist
Hoya Productions, Inc.
A young girl's soul is at stake in a showdown between good and evil in this shocking horror film from 1973. Can you name this genre classic?
"Beyond the Door"
"Abby"
"Rosemary's Baby"
"The Exorcist"

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The Wizard of Oz
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
A cyclone sweeps a Kansas farm girl away to a fantasy land in this beloved musical adventure from 1939. Can you name this movie?
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Fantasia"
"The Wizard of Oz"
"Babes in Arms"
Blazing Saddles
Warner Bros.
There's a new sheriff in town in this 1974 sendup of the Western genre. Can you name this comedy classic?
"Rustlers' Rhapsody"
"The Villain"
"Support Your Local Sheriff"
"Blazing Saddles"
Taxi Driver
Bill/Phillips Productions / Italo/Judeo Productions
A Vietnam vet slowly loses his sanity on the streets of New York in this 1976 thriller. Can you name this gripping and violent film.
"Taxi Driver"
"The Deer Hunter"
"Heroes"
"Tracks"

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The Shawshank Redemption
Castle Rock Entertainment
Can you name the 1994 prison drama in which a wrongly convicted man forms a lifelong friendship with a fellow prisoner while meticulously planning an escape?
"Escape From Alcatrazz"
"The Big Birdhouse"
"Stir Crazy"
"The Shawshank Redemption"
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Can you name this 1981action-adventure about an archeologist on a quest to save a religious relic from the Nazis?
"Romancing the Stone"
"Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold"
"High Road to China"
"Raiders of the Lost Ark"
The Matrix
Warner Bros. / Village Roadshow Pictures / Groucho II Film Partnership / Silver Pictures
A computer programmer becomes the leader of a rebellion when he discovers that humanity is trapped in an artificial reality in this action-packed sci-fi film from 1999. Can you name this influential movie?
"The Matrix"
"Johnny Mnemonic"
"Hackers"
"The Net"

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Avatar
Lightstorm Entertainment / Dune Entertainment / Ingenious Film Partners
In the 22nd century, the indigenous population of an alien moon is threatened by colonial exploitation of their natural resources. Can you name this animated film?
"Ferngully"
"The Dark Crystal"
"Heavy Metal"
"Avatar"
Singin' in the Rain
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
A silent film actress has trouble transitioning to talkies in this romantic 1952 musical. Can you name this film?
"West Side Story"
"Gigi"
"Singin' in the Rain"
""Meet me in St. Louis"
Citizen Kane
Mercury Productions
In this 1941 drama, a reporter tries to unravel the mystery of a wealthy newspaper publisher's dying words. Can you name this innovative film?
"Bringing Up Baby"
"Citizen Kane"
"The Awful Truth"
"The Third Man"

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Some Like it Hot
Mirisch Company
A couple of jazz musicians dress in drag to throw gangsters off their trail in this classic comedy from 1959. Can you name this movie?
"Some Like it Hot"
"The Odd Couple"
"La Cage aux Folles"
"The Misfits"
It's a Wonderful Life
Liberty Films
An angel shows a good man what life would be like had he never been born in this beloved holiday classic from 1946. Can you name this film?
"White Christmas"
"The Lemon Drop Kid"
"It's a Wonderful Life"
"Holiday Inn"
Vertigo
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
A police detective with a fear of heights becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman in this 1958 thriller. Can you name this film?
"Topaz"
"The Man Who Knew Too Much"
"Frenzy"
"Vertigo"

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A Clockwork Orange
Polaris Productions / Hawk Films
The leader of a youth gang in a dystopian near-future undergoes a radical treatment to end his violent ways in this 1971 film. Can you name it?
"A Clockwork Orange"
"The Warriors"
"Assault of Precinct 13"
"Escape From New York"
The Godfather
Paramount Pictures / Alfran Productions
The reluctant youngest son of a Mafia family becomes its leader in this multigenerational crime drama. Can you name this popular film from 1972?
"Goodfellas"
"Mean Streets"
"Black Caesar"
"The Godfather"
The Ten Commandments
Cecil B DeMille production
This religious epic dramatizes the biblical Book of Exodus. Can you name this blockbuster from 1956?
"The Robe"
"Ben Hur"
"Quo Vadis"
"The Ten Commandments"

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2001 A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick Productions
A mysterious monolith holds the key to human evolution in this 1968 science-fiction epic. Can you name this groundbreaking film?
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
"Soylent Green"
"The Omega Man"
"2001: A Space Odyssey"
Mulholland Drive
Les Films Alain Sarde / Asymmetrical Productions / Babbo Inc. / Canal+ / The Picture Factory
An actress tries to help a woman with amnesia unlock the secret of her identity in this surreal, modern film noir. Can you name this bizarre film?
"Mulholland Falls"
"Mulholland Drive"
"Lost Highway"
"Inland Empire"
Apocalypse Now
Omni Zoetrope
A soldier is sent on a mission to take down a Special Forces colonel with a god complex in this harrowing drama set during the Vietnam War. What is the name of this film?
"Platoon"
"Hamburger Hill"
"Full Metal Jacket"
"Apocalypse Now"

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Star Wars
Lucasfilm
Can you name the 1977 film in which a farm boy embarks on an adventure in a galaxy far, far away?
"Star Wars"
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
"2001: A Space Odyssey"
"Dune"
Sunset Boulevard
Paramount Pictures
A washed-up silent-film star taps a failed writer to help her stage a comeback in this 1950 film noir. Can you name this movie?
"The Lost Weekend"
"Mildred Pierce"
"Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"
"Sunset Boulevard"